I found this dish to be very bland. It definitely needs some added seasoning or the addition of maybe turkey smoked sausage to up the flavor without too many added calories. A can of green chilies or maybe some creole seasoning. And definitely soak your beans overnight to make sure they're softened!

I'm looking forward to trying this recipe with a few alterations: First, I'll have to cook the beans in my pressure cooker because we live at 5500 feet above sea level, and beans will never cook in this amount of time. I'm going to substitute cilantro for thyme and eliminate the salt.

Easy to make, smelled great, but needed something more. May try it later after my rural southern taste buds have stopped expecting all vegetables to be cooked with fatback in them and with some of the other reviewers' suggestions. My neighbors loved it, even though my family didn't.